State to get Ayurpark

THE State is slated to get an Ayurpark Health Care Centre, which will provide incubation to 20 small and micro Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) drug manufacturing units.

The project is being set up in an area of two acres at Upasapura in Malur taluk, about 20 km from ITPL. The work on the facility has already begun and is expected to be operational by June, 2011.

Till now, the Karnataka project has received Rs six crore from the government, revealed J S D Pani, president, Karnataka Indian Medicine Manufacturers Association (KIMMA). The clusters will also offer quality raw material at affordable prices, he added.

About the schemeSpeaking on the sidelines of the 4th World Ayurveda Congress, which was inaugurated here on Friday, Dr S K Sharma, advisor (Ayurveda), Department of Ayush, New Delhi, said that Karnataka was one of the eight states to be included under the scheme launched by the Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which was launched in 2007.

The other states include Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Odisha and Rajasthan.

Under the scheme, the Union government will invest Rs 10 crore, to be released in three installments over two years. The 20 manufacturing units will put in about Rs four-crore as their share, which comes to about Rs 15-20 lakh per unit, Dr Sharma explained.

Apart from the funding, the government will also provide high class manufacturing, packing and testing equipment, along with provision for warehouse.

“This will ensure that the drugs produced by these units are of high quality and match international standards,” he said. In future, the department aimed at mobilising similar clusters in every state.

All India Institute of AyushInaugurating the Congress, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said that to promote Ayurveda, the state government was taking several initiatives. “Apart from starting an Ayurveda University along with Government of India, the State will also be home to an All India Institute of AYUSH, to be established at a cost of Rs 10 crore,” he said.

The Chief Minister said a pharma city and supporting sustainable cultivation of medicinal plants were also on the agenda.

Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living Foundation, who was also present at the event, urged foreign delegates and government officials to interact with the European parliament and dissuade them from enhancing laws that would be detrimental for the access of traditional systems of medicines.

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